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Area pumpkin shatters world record

Chris Stevens, of New Richmond, Wis., stands next to his record-setting pumpkin, which weighed in at 1,810.5 pounds during an event in Stillwater Saturday. The previous record was 1,725.

A western Wisconsin man has broken the world record for the largest pumpkin ever grown.

Chris Stevens, of New Richmond, Wis., delivered his huge pumpkin to the Stillwater Harvest Fest on Saturday. His pumpkin made it to the scale at about 2 p.m.

When the official weight was announced, 1,810.5 pounds, a huge cheer rose from the gathered crowd. Stevens pumped his fists into the air.

The pumpkin was significantly larger that the previous world record pumpkin of 1,725 pounds grown in Ohio in 2009. Another pumpkin tied the world record earlier this year. Stevens said he'd hoped that his pumpkin would break the record, but he wasn't certain.

Stevens, along with several other local pumpkin enthusiasts, have been striving for the big one for years. This year's record breaker will likely catch the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records.

The largest pumpkin ever grown in Wisconsin was also grown near here.

John Hopkins of rural New Richmond grew a 1,675-pound pumpkin this season and took it to the Nekoosa Giant Pumpkin Fest earlier in October for a weigh-in and set the state record. That pumpkin was also on display at Saturday's Stillwater event.